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ANN ARBOR, MI – The rotary engine may have a future after all.

Once thought to be the next big thing in automotive powertrains, the rotary, or Wankel, engine largely was shelved by developers in the late 1970s, a victim of toughening emissions standards and rising fuel-economy demands.

Nearly every major auto maker seemed to have a rotary in the works during the decade, but Mazda Motor Corp. was alone in putting one into volume production during that era and is the sole producer of a Wankel-powered car at present, the RX-8.

But the rotary may have new life, ironically as a result of the industry’s push into vehicle electrification.

Gary Hunter, chief technologist-diesel engines for AVL Powertrain Engineering Inc., says the rotary may find a home in future extended-range electric vehicles, similar to General Motors Co.’s upcoming Chevrolet Volt.

EREVs run on electricity, but use a small internal-combustion engine as an electrical generator once stored battery power begins to run low.

Speaking to a University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute conference here on future powertrain technology, Hunter says the rotary offers a packaging advantage over a conventional piston engine in such applications.